Barber Electronics Burn Unit

This has six knobs, 2 channels, and internal trim pots, so it's a bit more involved than the run of the mill tube screamer. All-in-all though, it's pretty easy to get a good sound out of it, and there's plenty of tones from then on. The instructions it comes with give some good baselines.

I'm using this with an old bassman head into a 2x12 cab with jensens. These days, I'm primarily playing a musicman silhouette special and a prs custom 22, but I also use a tele and les paul from time to time. It sounds good with all of them. It's quiet, which is what I would expect from a medium gain pedal. The gain is good, and you definitely can boost the signal to hit the front end harder. My main complaint in the past with OD pedals has been that I can't get enough boost out of them. I haven't had that problem at all with the burn unit, and I've got the added bonus of 2 channels with separate volume and gain controls.

As far as my playing style is concerned, I've done session work and live performance for everything from country-ish, blues, jazz, 80s musicals (footloose), to hard rock. I get the Brian May, Gilmour, Neil Schon, Eric Johnson, comments from time to time. That's a hell of a complement, one that I don't think I'm owed, but you get the idea regarding playing style. This effect does exactly what I need it to. I use it in conjunction with a Barber LTD and an old Rat, and I've pretty much got the dirt covered. I will say that I could gig with just this.

All in all, I'm pretty picky, and will definitely say that I'm an unpaid advocate for barber and the burn unit.

You can hear the Burn unit at myspace.com/kingcarlospdx. The song "hard run" and our cover of "Hey Ya" are the burn unit as the only OD into my bassman.

I bought this used. The guy that shipped it to me shipped it with the battery still in the compartment. One of the capacitors was bent during shipping, and god knows how many times the thing slammed into the circuit board courtesy of the US Postal Service. I haven't had one problem with it in the time that I've had it. I've used it for live performance, as well as a 4 song EP

As I mentioned, there was an issue during shipping. I'm paranoid about my gear, so I decided to call the company to ask a few questions. I called at about 10 minutes until the end of the business day on a friday. Not only did someone answer, but my questions were patiently answered. Try getting that kind of service from the manufacturers carried by the Wal Mart of music stores.

The Burn Unit is awesome. Seriously. I have several other overdrive pedals, and I recommend this one over the other mass market and boutique units I own. It does exactly what I need it to. I've been playing for well over a decade, much of it spent recording and performing live, and I've amassed quite the pile of gear. It takes a great deal to make me want to write a review anymore. A friend of mine turned me on to Barber, and they make such quality gear, that the least I can do is pass it one.

As far as my other gear is concerned:

For guitars I've got a Fender strat, tele, japanese bullet, prs custom 22, musicman silhouette special, and a gibson les paul.

The current pedal board setup is guitar into mxr micro amp, rotovibe, budda wah, burn unit, barber ltd (another pedal I'd recommend for low gain), vintage rat, line 6 dm-4, tuner, and then out to amp. I occasional use a univox superfuzz, marshall shredmaster, and a boss phaser, but I haven't swapped any of those in for sometime.

I've spent a pile of money on gear in the last decade, and I can honestly say I wish I'd found this sooner.

I can't believe that I have never posted a review for this pedal. I purchased an older single-channel Burn Unit back in '01, and have been using it consistently since. I would have to say that the 'honeymoon' period is over.
Why an '8' on Ease of Use? Because even after owning it for 7 years, I still struggle with how to use it- not because it is hard to use, but because it covers a couple of different tones very well (a wonderful problem to have).

For a pedal, this ranks a definitive '10'. This is coming from a long-term, die-hard pedal junkie. I have collected many OD pedals over the years in my seemingly never-ending search. Bottom line is this- after 25 years of playing, my board is filling up with Barber gear. All of his product that I own is 'World-class'. Most of his OD's I would say in general are very smooth- the Burn Unit is no exception. His web-site sound files do not do his pedals justice. (Dave, I hope you read this!). Honestly they do not express how musical and 'alive' his products are. So if you even begin to like the sound files you are hearing, you will not be disappointed with the product. (Dave, please consider this. I have deep respect for your product because of the years of enjoyment it has brought to me.)
Back to the Burn Unit- It covers alot of ground, but typically I use it as an alternate 'warm' clean tone (burn set at zero, dynamics set at zero). The dynamics control works the opposite of what you would think- the lower the setting, the more compression and sizzle. The reason I use it like this is because this setting has a two-fold purpose- obviously to yeild an alternate clean tone, but also to drive other pedals or the gain channel on my amp. Adding this at the beginning of the chain will enhance almost any gain device, improving the sustain and harmonics. It adds a smooth 'buttery' quality that is a pleasure to hear and to play.
I have used this pedal with a variety of gear ranging from Class-A tube to solid-state and it has worked well in any configuration it has found itself in.

Hand-built. Have used it for 7 years with no back-up. I treat all my gear with care, but even after probably 4,000 times I have stepped on this little baby, it still works fine.

Read some of the other reviews as well- his support will exceed your expectations, no matter how high your bar is set. He cares about his customers.

I would recommend this pedal to anyone- just understand that it does not cover 'metal'. It is very versatile- yielding from a full-blown lead tone or two (Just for reference, it will do this running directly into a clean amp, without any intervention from the amp), or cover low to mild-gain ground as good or better than most of the 'boutique' stuff on the market.
I can't tell you the number of compliments I have received over the years about my tone. I owe most of this to Barber.
Thank you Dave.

This is one of the older hand made pedals not to be confused with the burn unit II, but I doubt there is much difference. 4 knobs volume, tone, dynamics, burn.

The dynamics knob is a bit of a mystery to me. It seems to compress more the further it is turned counter-clockwise. The rest of the knobs are straight forward.

This is correctly described as a distortion pedal. It doesn't do clean boost.

The tone is marshall all the way. In fact it sounds very close to the marshall shredmaster and drivemaster pedals. I was able to cop my shredmaster tone to the point that I could not tell the two pedals apart other than a slight bit more clarity from the burn unit. Some reviews have called it dark. Hmmm... not mine at all. I leave the tone around noon and there is plenty more treble if I wanted it. Could be the original design was dark but mine was updated to current specs before I got it.

The pedal is very responsive to voltage. I found the sound totally changed when I plugged it into a power supply. With a slightly worn battery the tone was warmer, darker and way more distorted. When I plugged in the power supply the volume jumped way up and the distortion went way down. The pedal became much clearer. Then I plugged it into my Batt-Man with variable voltage. Awesome! You can completely change the character by messing with the input voltage!

This is a killer sounding pedal.

This is a sweet pedal. Sounds better than most.

Very Easy to get a good sound. Dial it in and it's there.

The best Distortion pedal I have ever had yet in over 40 years of playing. I have been using a Triaxis for years. I have various speaker cabinets depending on my mood. I have a 2-10" loaded with Celestion Vintage 10's, single 12 cabs with a Vintage 30 in one and a G12H in another, a couple of Eminence speakers which I like and a couple of old alnico white coffee can magnet EV SRO's. I also have various combo's besides my rack gear. BF Super Reverb, Blues Junior, Mesa F-30, Carr Rambler, Fender Deluxe Reverb, etc.....I have been experimenting around with pedals to make up a pedalboard so I can get back into using my combo's since I've been gigging with the Triaxis for so long. I bought a few and discarded them and am still searching for the "right stuff" before I finalize the pedalboard. I brought this to a gig and set it up to use in conjunction with my Triaxis since the pedalboard is still a project in the making. Man, I had to tweak the Triaxis to sound as good as the Barber Pedal. It is articulate, fat and harmonically satisfying. I have since bought the Barber Tone Press and the Launch Pad and am very seriously thinking about getting the Tone Pump. My whole board will be Barber stuff except the Modulation effects such as Chorus and Delay. If they made them I'd probably get them too. I like this better than my Route 66, my green TS-9, a Rat pedal, my V-Twin and the latest pedal purchased, my ToneBone Classic. This is good stuff. It is now my favorite Distortion machine. There are a lot of subtle nuances inside this box. Take the time to feel it out. I enjoy using it. I still like Tube Dist but this is the best non-tube Dist I've heard yet.

Seems very reliable.

Requested directions via email and got a pronto response. Talked to David Barber a couple of times. A nice guy for someone who is busy trying to run a business. He took the time to answer my questions.

Play various styles. Pop, funk, variety, R&R, Classic, jazzy stuff, standards, etc.....everyting except Metal. I have to say I would probably buy this again. I would look around since there are so many pedal manufacturers around now that there are pedals that I have not heard yet, though I've heard many. This ranks high up there.

I wrote a review for the Burn Unit back in 1999. I was playing around with the pedal this weekend and I found I could make it sound exactly like the overdrive from my Gibson GA-15RV GoldTone amp.

The Gibson amp basically has a volume knob and a tone knob. You get overdrive by just turning it up. To get overdrive at lower volumes, I turn the volume of the Gibson amp to 3:00, then I plug this into a Weber Mass Attenuator, then I plug it into a Mesa cabinet. That gives me a pretty good classic rock overdrive tone.

But I discovered I can get the exact tone using the Burn Unit. I turn the attenuator off and set the volume at 9:00 (which is a clean volume setting). On the burn unit, the volume is at 11:00, the tone was at 12:30 (kind of dark, but the mass attenuator darkens my tone too), the dynamics was at 3:00, and the pump was around 7:30. I then plug that into an old Ibanez 6-band EQ pedal. I boosted some of the bass frequencies and this seemed to simulate the fullness you get when turning the amp up. The tone is an exact match of my "cranked Gibson amp into attenuator" tone. I was surprised how close it was. ONe of the reasons I bought the Gibson amp was to get that classic rock overdrive and have a good clean tone.

Now I wonder if can dial in that same tone by using the Burn Unit with my Twin Reverb.

I've had it for 5 years now and it is still working fine.

I bought it second hand. I didnt got the manual. This is the old version with 4 knobs: Volume Tone Dynamic and Burn. I didn't had to fiddle that much to dial in somthing i like. I use it as a booster in front of my V-Amp 2 (giggle). Well, to be honoust, I love the V-Amp. I had my share of tubes, but those things cost me to much. I'm not sure what they Dynamic knob does. Seems to "open up" the sound a bit. Phaps it works as a limiter or somthing like that. Ow yeah, its a crime to switch batteries. U'll have to remove 4 screws in order to change a battery.

My setup: Hohner G3T (the steinberger paddle copy) -> Burn Unit -> Morley Power Wah Fuzz (the chrome tank) -> V-Amp 2 -> Yamaha EMX 640 Powermixer -> 12" cabs with tweets, forgot the brand.
Its not noisy. Well, it can be, when u crank it. But nothing annoying. Hm, i'm not a tone expert, I just like it. My only other option was a Carl Martin Hot drivn boost or the Hughes and Kettner Tube factor. The burn unit was the cheapest, tho the others have power supplies come with it. Oh well, phaps ill trade someday. Have had various overdrive boxes, like a V-Twin, TS-10, MS-10 and the cheap Big Muff. So far like the barb best. Darn, I get the feeling this review wont help ye guys. I'd better shut up.

Well, the guy I bought it from, had it for some time. So, seems it will survive time. Really well built. I dont have a back up. Do not intend to buy a back up. Seems reliable enough. Tho u can step on the knobs. Thats a drawback. Ow and i think the stickers won't last.

Never dealt with them. They have a well equipped website.

I play all kinds of stuff. Just not so good at evrything. Have been playing for 18 yrs now. The gear i use, i mentioned above. The gear i have sold: DOD FX96, Mesa V-Twin, Russian Big Muff, Fender Bassmann 70 (2x15" cab), Fender PA100 tube pa, Boss GX700, Viscount PX3000 pedal board, Behringer FCB1010 pedalboard, Behringer Virtualizer DSP1000, Ibanez UE405, Ibanez MS10, Ibanez TS10, Ibanez TC10, IBANEZ DDL, Morley Wah, Korg AX1G. Yessssssssssss, I like cheap stuff. Didnt compare it really 1 to 1. I have tried Rats and Tubescreamers and Carl Martin b4. I liked the carl martin. But i could get the burn unit cheaper. I'm starting to like it a lot. Nevertheless, i'm quite certain it will be sold in the future. Cant really stick to somthing.

very easy. this has 3-4 great sounds in it. the manual is great..gives 5-6 different settings fro different sounds. i use the clean boost and marshall settings...sounds killer with a strat!!very easy. i like the british drive sound the best. the manual is very easy. the key is setting the internal trimmer for the bass to 1 o'clock. for the marshall settings, i set the burn at 12-3oclock and the volume at 12 o clock, volume at 1-1:30, tone at 12-3:00 and dynamics at 5 o'clock

i only use dave's pedals with strats....dont need them w/ humbucker guitars. i have a 3 knob tone pump-no internal trimmer, 6 knob tone pump, 4 knob edge hog, 6 knob edge hog, thius burn unit and a dual unit with a burn unit and a tone pump. they all sound great on any setting...just make sure the internal trimmer is properly adjusted!!!

yes very reliable. and i use barber pedals without backups

the best. dave has reworked my 6 knob tone pump and edge hog and wouldn't accept a dime--not even for shipping!! dave consistently emails me back immediately--even when i am bugging him!!

dave barber makes the best boutique true bypass pedals. the burn unit and the 3 knob tone pump are just killer!! he is on par with robert keeley and alfonso hermida...my 2 other favorite boutique guys. i play blues and classic rock, been playing since 1974. my main gear is my custom relic ash strat w/ rosewood board and lindy fralin hot p/ups into my keeley compressor--burn unit)--keeley ts-9 w/ vaughn cost dual chaneel mod--alfonso hermida modded clone clone chorus w/ 2 footswitchable speeds--ibanez ad-9 analog delay or echo machine--sweetsound booster or PE dual tone on clean boost--top hat club deluxe amp/fensder super champ/fender blues jr.
i love the natural sound of the pedal it sounds like a great old marshall. at first i wished for a little more gain, but then alfonso hermida suggested i stick the compressor first in my effects chain as a preamp--which gave me 3% more gain which is all i was looking for---killer!!

Very easy to use. Instructions are included.Has two channels,two volume controls.two drive controls,one for tone and one for compression.

I play a Les Paul through a Peavey Classic 30&50.I also use a Roland GP-8 for delay.This is the best overdrive pedal I've ever heard.It sounds so smooth and creamy like Robben Ford or Larry Carlton.
Now I have the best of both worlds with warm clean sound of a Peavey and the drive of a Dumble.

Handmade with the highest quality parts.Never had a problem.Wouldn't mind having another one just in case.

I've talked to Dave twice.He was very helpful.He answered all of my questions.Big Robben Ford fan.

I play jazz,blues,R&Band funk.The Burn Unit does it all.

Pretty easy to get this pedal to sound good. I haven't played it in enough situations to get any of the "great" sounds other posters have talked about, though. The manual (which Mr. Barber was kind enough to enail me within hours of my request) gives a few sample settings which are great starting points. This pedal was also bought used and apparently had a mod done by Dave to open up and clarify the sound. In addition I have not tweaked the internal bass response pot at all yet.

Using with Reverends, Fender strats, and PRS instruments into a Top Hat Club Deluxe, although it may also spend some time on the pedal board for my Mesa and Budda amps. Extremely quiet in this set up (straight into the front of the amp) and in conjunction with the other pedals in the chain. A little tendency toward treble fizziness with the TH, but easily compensated for and still sounds far more natural than most overdrives with this amp. It's possible, using the "$15,00.00 collectors amp" setting to get a very smooth, almost infinite sustain with no trace of fuzziness. Very nice. And it'll still grind if you hit the strings hard. I don't know from D*umble, but this is nice!

Would depend on it. DO depend on it.

See above. All signs point toward Barber as another terrific boutique designer/builder.

I play all kinds of stuff and really like this pedal. Clean and with enough gain to drive anything I'd be likely to play (a tad gainier than the Fulldrive 2, not in the ballpark of the Rat or Morley JD10). I'd look at this unit again if lost or stolen, but I have my doubts regarding the new 2 channel unit. Sounded very fizzy on its decay when I auditioned one recently. But I don't know how it would work with my gear. Similar to the Fulldrive 2 with a little more gain and less of a midrange notch. Before this pedal I lined up a Voodoo Sparkle Drive, JD10, DOD 250, Rat, Tube Screamer, Bixonic Expandora, and Fulldrive 2 in front of my new Top Hat and was very disappointed by all but the Fuller pedal. The Bixonic, in fact, sounded far worse than even the reissue DOD. THERE'S an overhyped pedal for you. Took a shot on the Barber and so far it has lived up to its reputation. Very clear and articulate tones, even with whompin'amounts of distortion. Cuts through very well, and when you back the volume down on your guitar maintains its basic tonal structure so that you can play grinding rhythm and then dial up for your leads. The "cleans up/doesn't clean up" question is a non issue. I LIKE a pedal that retains its tone when I back my guitar's volume down. That's why I'm using a pedal. A little MORE gain would be great, though.

Addendum to the review I submitted without finishing (DUH!). There has been some controversy over this pedal being "dark" and not "cleaning up well." My view is that the people stating these two "complaints" are probably the same folks that think Miller Lite is a "really great beer." The pedal is ever so slightly "dark"--it's not enough to really mention. I've seen Eric Johnson 7 times in 10 years and everytime his tone is slightly "Dark"--so there. The pedal cleans up great when you back off your volume! If you want clean--DON'T USE IT!. Sorry I don't hear much of a "grainy" tone either. The pedal has an extremely musical, smooth, harmonically rich tone that reacts well to picking nuances (harder, softer, etc.)
Finally, I've got other good od boxes (Budda Phatman and a Fulltone Soul-Bender). They are good at what they do, the Burn Unit just does more and is really more my thing. If you are a good player with a refined technique--I'd URGE you to check out a burn unit.

Had it almost a year. Built like a mack truck. Have used it without a back up and wasn't worried a bit, but may buy another unit just to have for fun (Yes, I like it THAT much!!!!!!)

DAVE IS THE BEST. He cares about what he does and his customers. I needed/wanted a manual when I first got the pedal and e-mailed him for one. He responded to me in LESS THAN TWO MINUTES--GOOD LORD! (We had the same e-mail service). Dave has answered any and all questions and been generous with advice on some amp repair questions I had. I WILL buy this man a beer one day! If anything ever went wrong (yeah right!), I feel Dave would be absolutely helpful.

I play a wide variety of rock/blues/some fusion-y stuff and this one fits everything with a minor amount of tweaking. Been playing about 16 years and this is one piece of gear going to the GRAVE with me. It is simply a must have at any price for what I do. Yes, I know we are in the age of amp modeling and I honestly think it's wonderful, but sometimes (for me) simpler is better. I'm not a computer programmer--which is what I feel like when I diddle around with those things.
I've not tried any of Dave's other creations, although I would certainly like to. I can find no weaknesses in construction/tone/or use with any type of equiptment (pedals and amps) and believe me, I CAN ALMOST ALWAYS find something! I'm sold on the Burn Unit totally. If it was stolen---hmmmm--hope the person has a great proctologist to remove my Burn Unit/Hamer/Foot/Ass-halt rifle from his posterior. You'd be better off stealing from Attilla the Hun. Prices for these Units do fluctuate. I got a great deal off mine on e-bay. New one will cost ya more. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line--I LUV to talk shop/amps/burn unit!

Let's be honest. Overdrive/distortion boxes are a-dime-a dozen. I'm a reformed "pedal junkie", but still enjoy trying the occasional stomp box out. Years ago, friends would laugh and give me a hard time--the most common comment I heard was "Dude, there is NO SUCH thing as a magic black box." Guess what kiddies. Now there is. This pedal sounds good where ever you set it, my favorite being the obvious "D&umble" setting and the "british" (Plexi) setting. Great sounds are attainable with some work as this is a very versital piece of equiptment. 4 control knobs, TONS of sound/tone possibilites/and one REALLY friggin' bright green LED light.

I'm playing mostly Budda amps and an older (60's) Bassman. The sound of this thing is to DIE for. Yes, I know tone is very subjective to say the least--NO this is not a slash-your-wrist-rectumfire-alterna-scooped-deth-nomid-satan-tone (Thankfully!!). What this is, is a well defined, harmonically rich, extention of your personality. Can you say sweet, chimey, harmonic feedback at LESS than bedroom/practice volume--I thought so. At louder/gig volumes the Burn Unit makes like much easier and TONS of fun. It is a shame I didn't have this pedal years ago.
The Burn Unit likes other effects and is DEAD quiet at any volume. I have not tried it as a "boost" with higher gain amps like marshalls,etc., but I think it would be a benefit. It does seem to like slightly lower gain amps such as the ones I use (Budda, Fender, etc.)
You can obtain tones very similar to that of Robben Ford (Mystic Mile), and C. Santana. The "british" setting (with some tone/pickup selection) will get close to any good player using a marshall (Audley Freed, Angus, Trower, etc---how close you get to these and others will also be up to YOU!)
Unlike many od/dist. pedals, the burn unit does not "cough" when you get into shred/warp speed territory--it tracks better than any pedal I've come across.

No doubt, it took me some time to find my favorite settings for this pedal. But, that's the beauty of the burn unit - instead of having only one decent setting like most pedals, it has several great ones, including that prized Dumble tone. This is the most versatile overdrive pedal I've ever used. One of the reasons it took me a while to find what I like most about this pedal is that each control knob has so much impact on the overall sound and the sound of the other chosen settings. And, it takes some experimentation to understand what the "dynamics" and "burn" settings actually mean in the context of an overdrive pedal use. Easy to find good sounds; takes a little time to find the great ones, but they are there.

I own and regularly play 19 (solid, chambered and hollow-bodied) electric guitars - 8 Suhr, 4 PRS, 3 custom shop Fender, 3 Gibson, and 1 McInturff. Amps include 4 Fender, a Dumble ODS, a K&M, a Guytron, a Marshall, a Vox, and an Edward. I use them all with this pedal, but often change the settings based on the type of amp. On or off, this is the quietest (least noisy) pedal I've used. It's entirely transparent when not in use and, especially, by itself, barely perceptible at high settings. Of course, playing style and gear greatly influence tone, but, with my humbucker guitars, Ford, Lukather, Morse,and Santana tones can be attained with this pedal. Single coil tones include Hendrix, Stevie Ray, Ernie Isley, early Beck and Page, Knopfler - although, for these tones and classic/vintage Fender/single coil tones, I prefer the "Tone Pump" or the "Chunk Wagon" from Nuance. Neither of these pedals is as dark or grainy as the "Burn Unit." Also, with these pedals, you don't have to hurt your ears to get the tone of someone wailing on a wide open amp. These pedals are great at low amp and pedal volumes. Try that with a "Tube Screamer."

This thing is built like a tank! I'm not worried about it, but, if it did malfunction, my "Tone Pump" has it covered.

I've spoken with Dave Barber several times about customizing my pedal board and about future products. His knowledge and understanding of sound and electronics is other-worldly. And, a nice guy to boot! He even rebuilt/modified one of my dusty old Fender amps to sound the way I wanted. It's my main amp now.

I've been playing, recording, and touring internationally for 36 years and play and enjoy most styles of guitar music. Along the way, through friends and endorsements, I've acquired and "de-acquired" lotsa gear! I've given away, given back, donated or sold most of it -simply because I didn't like it. The equipment I own now is a collection of what, I feel, are superior, never-to-be-sold pieces; I don't own anything I don't like. To me, the "Burn Unit" and the "Tone Pump" represent a tone breakthrough. I wish I'd had these boxes when I was starting out; they are far superior to anything I've used in almost 4 decades of professional playing. If I could only go back and re-cut some of those old tracks! I know that this pedal is not for everyone - no pedal is. But, as far as I'm concerned, these are the best overdrive pedals ever made.

Pretty easy to use, 4 knobs and one foot switch, plus an internal tone control. I knocked off a couple points for the internal control and the slightly odd "Dynamics" control, which is more a compression factor then anything else.

This is a middle of the road OD pedal. On the upside it has a lot of boost to offer. On the down side it's sound is colored, compressed and the EQ of the pedal is too mid. Even with the inside control turned to max it still sounds like a pedal in front of your amp. This is a opposed to sounding like part of your amp.

For a novice or gig impaired player this would probably make a person happy. For a gig level player, it really can't cut through a band mix. It's too colored for studio work, unless your looking for a tweaked type sound for some reason?

No problems in the year I owned it.

I owned the pedal for a year and did get some use from it. But it's been long since replaced. Like I said, it's a middle of the road pedal with a mediocre sound. In a live mix you will probably be buried.

I've been playing over 17 years, a gig level musician mostly play blues and rock. My goal here was to offset some of the bedroom player reviews.

UPDATE: I just wanted to share a side note. Another feature that I had no clue about when I wrote the last review is the internal bass trim pot. I have heard nothing about this until recently. I always loved the sound of this pedal, but was kind of despondent because, despite my best efforts, the pedal still sounded like it did away with a good bit of the bass response on whatever amp I was using, whenever I used it. I figured I could eventually tweak it just right, but haven't been able to. The pot looks like a white plastic deal - I thought it was one of the components, though I'd never seen anything like that. My first thought was, "where is this thing?!". Also, it may be a bit hard to turn at first, but it does move, so take heart. Now that I've got the bass response matched to my amp, I noticed even more harmonic complexity. I used it last night on a gig. The fuse on my Matchless was broken (don't ask, the glass broke off in the holder, so I have to get that out before I install a new fuse) so I had to use my backup amp, a Peavey Classic 100 (don't laugh, those are cool sounding amps, and a steal used). Of course the Burn Unit will sound phenomenal through the Matchless (those are great pedal amps, by the way, especially the Thunderman combo I have, which is pretty much clean, but still has that certain something that Matchless amps are known for). But it sounded incredible through the Peavey as well. Overall, I have to say that it has a very colorful sound. As with everything it seems, it works best with a really good tube amp (or at least a decent one). Tones ranging from L Carlton to R Ford, even to E Johnson somewhat, etc... All in all, great pedal.

4 Knobs, internal trimpot, and an on/off Footswitch.

I really like the controls - instead of bass and treble, there are knobs for tone and dynamics. Read the other reviews for what they do. Set the internal trimpot for your preferred bass response (after carefully marking the original spot, of course), adjust tone to your liking, then set volume, dynamics, and burn. The last two are interactive in a nice way - in other words, it's not like if you adjust a pot a smidgen in one direction you'll suddenly sound horrible. Great tones are all over this pedal.

Main rig: Fender strat w/ Kinman Avn Blues into effects by fulltone, colorsound, sweetsound, zvex, and barber's tone pump and burn unit into a '64 BF bassman with jenkins 2x12 cab. A very nice setup that likes me very much :-)<br><br>

The BU can cover tweed to plexi, but like most players, you'll probably find your best setting or two and leave it like that. I do think it's a darker pedal at heart, and I like that. However, you can get really bright (too harsh for me) settings by raising the tone and dynamics. You know, I don't need/want the most versatile pedal in the world. That's what different pedals are for. Still, it's nice to know that the flexibility exists.<br><br>

The BU doesn't have gobs and gobs of gain, but any more distortion would sacrifice the clarity (thus spoketh Dave Barber). The burn knob past 2 o'clock adjusts subtle variations on good medium-high gain with my single coils. With my dimarzio/duncan humbucker guitar, I get lots more, enough for hard rock, but never metal.<br><br>

The burn unit can be noisy, just like most any other distortion device, boutique or otherwise. At live levels, you won't notice at all...You will get the juiciest tones at _any_ volume. You want sustain? Easily controlled feedback? Cream with your coffee? The Burn Unit excels at making all this possible with ease. In fact, with a good tube amp (yes please), the BU becomes a vessel between your fingers and the tone-of-the-gods. It's that rich and alive.<br><br>

With the onset of the boutique craze of recent years, players have so many options - in conjunction with the rise of the 'net, this has resulted in the "what's the best ***** pedal/amp/guitar/etc?" syndrome. Nearly all of us suffer. But it's better than having a bad version of communism where all you get is "Pedal" isn't it? (You want distorion? Here, you need "Pedal". You want delay? Here, buy "Pedal")<br><br>

What sucks about all this is that it becomes really difficult to try out different pedals. If you don't want boss, ibanez, etc, you gotta pay up and hope. There's certainly no Barber distributer where I live, so I had to find out as much as possible on the 'net, and then cross my fingers. I got the tone pump first, fell in love, and promptly ordered the burn unit.<br><br>

All the boutique manufacturers make their versions of what they think good tone sounds like. Fulltone has his own perspective, Barber has a different one. I like Fulltone pedals because they embody classic vintage tones through Mike Fuller's ears. Mike's an incredible player, and he uses his own pedals on his recordings to get some of the best tones ever. That being said, I find Fulltone pedals a little dry and stolid. If you want to play "perfect" hendrix, srv, etc, then Fuller's definitely your man. However, if you want something a little sonically different, try Barber. You get better-than classic tone through the ears, brain, heart and soul of Dave Barber. Yes, I use barber pedals when I want to rock out on hendrix and srv to great effect. But I sound a little left-of-center than those players. I don't want to sound exactly like them anyway, and I sure-as-hell wouldn't trade the barber pedals for an 808, TS-9/10, or classic fuzzface.<br><br>

There are some comments on the 'net about how Barber pedals "shimmer". Someone compared the sound to a bluesy metalzone. I'd almost agree with this opinion. They do shimmer. They sustain. They feel alive.<br><br>

All the propaganda on the barber webpage is true. The BU imparts sonic flavor, blurs distinction between overdrive/distortion, etc...I tend to use more of the dumble setting with the burn set a little lower than others may like. At high volumes through my bassman, I get incredibly rich, creamy, complex tones that can't be reproduced

Strong construction. Hammond box, mouser pots, switchcraft jacks, etc etc...all the good stuff. In addition the true bypass is very well done, using good wire and resistor for the ground (I think, don't know much about this stuff). I like the low-profile easy-to-click footswitch very much. Don't know about their durability, but my ultravibe uses them too, and I like 'em. The board is not as cool as a zvex homemade brew (and frankly, doesn't smell as funky), and uses an IC chip for ease-of-construction, but the pedal does sound obscenely good, so I don't care.<br><br>

Here I'm knocking a point off because the wiring is not as clean as my tone pump (or my fulltone), which was artfully done by Dave Barber himself. With all the orders, Barber can't do it all himself so he employs "artisans". Nice term, but it could mean some 14-year old apprentice. Don't get me wrong, the wiring will hold up, it's better than I could ever do, the pedal won't fail or fall apart, but there is no comparing the innards of the BU to my TP. Adequate versus Art. If you want a pedal guaranteed to be put together completely by Barber himself, you'll have to order straight from him (I got mine through GasPedal). He'll also do custom dual units (two TP, or TP+BU in one casing).

Nicest guy around. No attitude, chats as long as both you and he need to. Really likes his pedals and good players who like good tone...<br><br>
Easy to get a hold of by phone, answers emails quickly. What all boutique pedal makers should be doing.

You pay for good tone. Try out the different flavors offered by different manufacturers. Maybe you'll be a fulltone devotee. Maybe you'll love the tonality of Rx Electronics, Everman, zvex, or any of the other guys. Each offers their own unique take on your basic pedal. I hit it big time with Barber. Sorry I wrote so much - but it felt like the Barber pedals were getting a skewed perspective. I've only written one other review so far - despite the ton of gear I have or have used in the past. I feel like I've dissed fulltone pedals here. Sorry, not my intention, because I do like them. And besides, they tend to sell themselves (check out the used fulltone gear on eBay!). Barber is unique, and his pedals are a perfect match for me. Try 'em. I believe he has a 7-day no fuss refund. You may not like them, but you may be blown away. I know I am.

Yeah, I know, it's a simple pedal and all (4 knobs, one stomp switch), not rocket science, but I give this pedal a "7" in the ease of use category only because it takes a while to dial in the sounds you might like, as opposed to "good, but somebody else's" sounds. You might thinks it's just okay when you first plug in, but will set it a certain way later and it'll rule. Other than that, it's pretty simple.

"Another ten?!" I know, but I really think this pedal deserves it. This pedal will more than likely not strike you right away as wonderful, but it might if you play with it for a while. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who let me borrow it for a while before letting me commit to it. I still haven't bought it from him, but I'm trying to work out maybe a trade deal (he likes the Tone Pump better with his amp, which incidentally, used to me mine).

This pedal has a completely different sound than any overdrive I've ever used, or perhaps heard. At first I was a bit let down, partially because I was expecting this to sound like "God's overdrive pedal", but this really is great when given a chance. I'll avoid the obvious points and try to focus on some points I feel need addressing. First of all, this is a medium-gain pedal, but in a strange way, the Burn control seems to not change that much between 2 and 9. It does allow great control over a small gain range. The Tone and Dynamics controls, combined with the gain, change the way the pedal overdrives in very subtle ways. I usually turn most pedal Tone controls all the way down, but I don't on this pedal, because it would just be too dark. But, in a way this is actually a bright pedal, but it's just not in the ear-stabbing bright range.

Really, I can't put my finger on the one magical element that makes me like this thing so much. Very hard to define. It can do the Tubescreamer thing, kind of, but it's really it's own animal. I've never played a Dumble Overdrive Special before, but I can imagine it sounding much the same, because other people's reactions with it have been mine with this pedal, in that it's definitely not everyone's sound, but it is a knock-out for those that like it. I can't imagine getting very aggressive tones with this pedal (though it can be a little aggressive). I like it for those silky, sustaining leads that I haven't been able to get with any other pedal - they either sounded too forceful, too raspy, or too mid-rangey, but it certainly wasn't the beautiful sound I get with this pedal. Not too fat, not too thin.
And yes, it depends on the amp you plug it into as to how exactly it's going to sound (reacts with the amp it goes into, instead of forcing a sonic agenda on it - but at the same time is its own thing, which I know sounds contradictory). I heard someone say that they had the same complaint that, like the Fulltone Fulldrive 2, it is a great pedal but with too much midrange. It's true that this pedal does have a kind of fixed midrange, but it's not that Boogie/Tubescreamer squashy, taking-over-the-signal midrange that the Fulldrive had (which can be cool sometimes, too). It has a very present, but very transparent mid frequency.

Couldn't say.

Never dealt with them. I called once, and they seemed nice enough and answered my question.

I didn't give it a ten overall, but only because it's a little hard to figure out. At first it sounded too thin, but then too thick, and I thought, "Man, what's going on here?". You just have to tinker with it to make it sound like you want. Actually, the version I tried is an early one, with purple letters - the Burn control reads "Pump", and the Dynamics control is labeled simply as a big letter "O". I still honestly don't know what to think of the pedal, except that it is capable of some very beautiful and singing overdrive tones, and that I want to get it. I guess you could say it's a bit "exotic" sounding, were it not so, well, almost normal.

The Barber Burn Unit comes in a black, (painted) standard size metal box, with stick-on yellow writing. Its controls consist of one in, one out, volume, tone, dynamics, burn and one LED for on/off. It also has a hard-wired "true bypass." The included manual is nothing more than four or five sample settings to get you started. At first glance the pedal seems "cheesy" looking, but what the heck, all pedals can't look and sound good at the same time. Speaking of sounds, this is what THIS particular pedal is all about. Having played various Tubescreamers for the past ten years or so, I was more than pleased to find this pedal gives me all that, plus much, much more. With the Volume set around 9 or 10 o'clock (slight volume increase when engaged), the Tone control set to 4 o'clock, (this pedal is rather dark sounding with the tone control set any lower), the Dynamics set to 10 o'clock, and the Burn set the same, I can get any of the vaulted SVR/Kenny Wayne blues sounds, (WITHOUT the annoying bass loss of a Tubscreamer) that up until now I was only able to hear in my head. The sounds in this pedal really are quite astounding. Even with the Burn control maxed complex chords ring out!! Once the tone and volume controls are set (above settings), moving the Dynamics knob and the Burn knob in conjuction moves you out of the SVR realm into ZZ Top, Trower, Led Zepplin and of course Hendrix. I find that the Dynamics knob has a dual function. Not only does it increase treble when it is moved clockwise it also DECREASES the compression as well. VERY COOL!! You can go from a very Mashally sound to a VERY usable Blackface sound by a simple twist of this knob. The one draw back (if it really is one) is the non "clean boost" mode. Even with the burn knob turned all the way counterclockwise there is still a slight amount of distortion present. Besides, if you want a TRUE "clean boost" there is nothing better than the Prescription Electronics "Germ" pedal. (see my review in Harmony Central)

My set-up consists of a '57 reissue Strat loaded with Lindy Fralin Woodstock "69" pickups, run through a 1965 Blackface Super Reverb. I run this pedal in conjuction with any of the following; Budda Wah, Prescription Electronics Germ, Prescrition Electronics Vibe Unit, and a Roger Mayer Octavia. This is the best sounding distortion pedal I have EVER heard with the Budda Wah, Ocatavia, or Vibe Unit. Incredible sounds!!

Although slightly "cheesy" looking this pedal seems very strudy and road worthy. I have owned it for six months with NO problems what-so-ever. So far, no need for a back up pedal.

I have spoken to Dave Barber on the phone and he seemed VERY friendly and helpful. He tests and designs all his pedals through two Super Reverbs. Need I say more!!

My main influences in music are; Hendrix, SVR, Trower, Kenny Wayne, and Scott Henderson. I can easily match any of their sounds with this pedal, plus many, many more. This pedal is really the best of the bunch when it comes to usable semi clean to distorted (in a very musical way) sounds.

You can read all other reviews for full story. Easy to get good sounds because they are all toneful. Getting a specific sound you want could be trickier because all controls are so interactive that there are many options. Experiment. Dynamics knob is interesting.

I've got a Tone Pump too. This is a darker and smoother sounding pedal. The name implies there might be more gain in the Burn Unit, but I say the Tone Pump grinds more. This is a wonderful sounding pedal if the Larry Carlton/Robben Ford thing is your bag.

Excellent. No problems for a year.

Very good. Dave's busy so calls aren't always answered as quickly as I might like.

Does what it promises. May not be for everyone, but it is a very unique take on the current rage of smooth and warm OD boxes. I am not disappointed and I would buy it again.

It is fairly easy to use, though it requires a bit of knob fiddling to really see what the unit is capable of. The bass control is located inside, which is kind of a pain to get at.

I like the tones I can get from the BU. The BU seems to be eq'ed on the dark side, so it delivers some pretty fat tones. I think it works best with single coils, though I have been able to coax really good sounds from humbuckers, too. I initially wanted a BU because it was supposed to emulate a Dumble ODS-type of overdrive tone, and I think it does come close to the Dumble ODS I tried. It can deliver a TS9 type sound, too. I don't like the fact that the pedal won't 'clean up'
too good when rolling the guitar volume down, especially at higher gain levels, the only really bad thing about the pedal. A little time spent twiddling the knobs can be rewarding with this pedal. It seemed like it had plenty of gain for me, especially with humbuckers.

Not too impressed with the build quality, kinda funky-looking solder joints. The bass pot inside looks like it won't withstand much abuse, not the best idea. I guess it is a 'wait and see' deal with the reliability.

No experience, purchased used.

The pedal does do what I want it to do, a thicker OD tone for single coil guitars. It also delivers a nice approximation of the Dumble ODS-type OD tone, which I really like, sort of Robben Ford-sounding.
Not too floored with the build quality, since it is a botique pedal, I was expecting a little more tidy construction. With that said, I'd probably still buy another one if this one were stolen, because I do like it.

Seems easy enough to get all the sounds it can do.There's a small instrution sheet with some adjustment suggestionson it.

I got this pedal because of the to say the least "articulate"reviews I read on this site.The fist thing I did was got my strat out ,my best amp,Dr.Z rt.66 plugged the pedal in and immediatly felt as though I took a drink of sour milk.Not a good pedal for that amp.But it's hard to make that amp sound better ,It's too good already! Not to be discouraged.I got my old Marshall plexi 100 out .In my opinion it just doesn't do the plexi thing.Too dark and compressed.Didnt sound bad in my vibro champ though.Beyond that there is one thing I find very important in a live situation .I like a pedal that cleans up a little bit I you roll off on the guitfiddle.This thing seems to stay muddy when I roll off (not cool).I have e few hand made pedals,Centaur,Menatone,Black cat OD1 to name a few.If you want the plexi sound get a Menatone Blue collar.Thats plexi

Looks built very well to me.

My girlfriend orderd this pedal for me in October for a Christmas surprise and even e mailed Dave a few weeks before x mas to see if it would be on time .He e mailed her back.One word. Yes.It didn't get there till after.I'm sure he's busy but hey be honest huh.

I play Blues driven rock and some heavy rock even jazz rock fusion And the reviews on this pedal seemed too good to be true lets face it a pedal aint going to make everthing sound better unless you got good stuff to begin with.This pedal doesn't Make my rig sound better to me.but isn't tone a subjective thing? Make sure when you buy any pedal that there is a check out period.I'm sure there is with this one .I hope this review helps out.

No real problems operating;it is only a stompbox after all.

I have to confess, I had really sworn off overdrive pedals years ago when I got my first high end channel switching tube amp. Most pedals just sound boxy and artificial by comparison. That was until the newer "boutique" type pedals appeared-fulltone,way huge,etc. I admired the true bypass and simple yet sturdy designs of these pedals and found the sounds a major step up from boss, dod,etc. However, I own both a Bogner Ecstacy and shiva, so pedals still paled in comparison. However, the barber burn unit blew me away! It produces a large range of overdrive with a variable level of compression and has extremely low noise levels. The tone really does resemble the Dumble/Robben Ford type driven sound, focused mid, nice sustain, clear, with a very subtle high end. It is definately not a scooped mid or sizzle-type distortion.The amp it is plugged into is significant in its response of course; I did not buy this pedal to replace the drive in the bogners-I find it redundant with the Ecstacy. It sounds nice through the amp, but still not as good as the blue and red channels on the amp. With the shiva the pedal really shines, however. I really like the open overdrive sound of the shiva, but it is not quite as refined in the highs as the ecstacy.The burn unit actually makes the shiva sound closer to the ecstacy! So I use the drive channel on the shiva for a nice medium gain sound, and use the burn unit on the clean channel for a smooth, higher gain lead tone.The ecstacy has a bit more compression in the overdrive, and is a bit darker than the shiva, so the burn unit delivers more of that quality to the shiva when I need it.

No problems yet. My friend Ken owns the burn unit and the tone pump and has had no malfunctions either.

I have not dealt with barber. I bought the pedal from Gas Pedal.com. These guys are friendly and have the pedals in stock. Call and they will ship it that day for the same price as Barber. Guys are selling used pedals for full price on the classifieds claiming "no wait". Gas pedal.com has new ones without the wait. At least for now, anyway.

I play various styles-jazz,fusion,rock,funk,blues,etc. I use this pedal on theatre jobs for blues leads and pop type stuff, as well as for light drive for 50's rock n roll. I do not get to use my own amp on many of these type of gigs, so the burn unit is very practicle in getting a cheaper amp to sound like it has a real good overdrive.By the way, why do some guys think that this thing does not have enough gain? I cannot imagine how squashed these guys like their tone?!

Easy to get a good sound out of it. Very easy to use.

I use it with a Gibson SG and a 50's Reissue strat into a Silver-face Twin Reverb.
As someone said earlier, it does a pretty good saturated amp sound. I compared it to the dirty channel on my Crate Vintage Club 50 amp.
If I increase the bass on my amp to get some body and low end, and then use the bright switch to get some high end sizzle, it comes somewhat close to the Crate dirty sound. It is great for hard rock rhythms ala AC/DC, Sammy Hagar. It's good for some 70's rock lead guitar, but I always wish it a little more gain for leads.

I wish it had more EQ control so I don't have to alter my amps EQ.
I also feel it has a certain mid-rangeiness that you can't dial out.
I have the same complaint about my FullDrive 2 pedal.

Like others said, I wish it would clean up more when lowering my
pickup volume.

My switch started going bad. I called Dave Barber and he told me he's never had trouble with them but to send it in. He said the switches are supposed to be self-cleaning. So I stepped on it a million times and it works better, however it does make a pop noise when you use the switch. I don't remember if it was always that way.

Like others said Dave is a real nice guy. He'll answer all your questions and doesn't seem the least bit annoyed. The only bad part is when you buy it, you have to wait for weeks.

Does vintage amp distortion pretty good. Wish it had more EQ control. Wish it was more responsive to changes in guitar volume. One of the better distortion pedals I've used. I still prefer amp distortion so I guess I will be using my Crate Vintage Club 50 more than my Fender Twin Reverb plus Burn Unit pedal.

Very easey to use, 4 knobs. Volume, Tone, Dynamics, Burn=Gain or Drive

I'm using with my Fender "Relic" Strat, Mesa Boogie Mark II C+ 4x12 Marshall. This pedal can do 3 Things. It can be used as a Boost, or Tweed and Blackfaced Driven "Sounds" and Dave Lists that on his Manual. One Fine Sound that everyone has missed, is that The Burn Unit can be set: Vol 12 Tone 4:00 Dynamics 10:00 (by the way this knobs sound varies depending on your tone and burn settings) Burn 10:00 ITS SOUNDS LIKE A MARSHALL PLEXI.. not wanna be! I have used the Menatone King of the Britains, and this is the REAL DEAL! If you want the pedal to do the TS9 Thing it'll do it, without bottom end loss, besides, arent we tired of all the TS9 knock offs??? To each is own I guess.

Its built with the standard casing that all the "Boutique" manufactures are using. Inside is very clean and neat! No amature here!! Some one complained about the cheap feet, and decals. I would rather buy the unit at suggested price that Dave asks for, than see him have em silkscreened with rubber screw-in feet, and have him charge 275!! Theres enough guys OVERPRICING their product!

I talked to Dave to find out how to get a Burn Unit, after our conversation, I received an email from a guy selling his. But in Talking to Dave He's not on an EGO TRIP and he's not a PEDAL GOD. Just a very easy goind guy!! Kudos to Dave Barber....Keep it simple with good quality and affordability and everyone will buy it!

You can use this pedal for any type of music. Even Jazz, with a little breaking up of the signal. THIS IS NOT A DARK METAL GRINDING PEDAL, but it sure Rocks Hard......can i say early Van Halen without sounding like a salesman???

Very easy to get a good sound out of it.

Based on other reviews, and all the buzz about the pedal, I got one. I agree with most of the posts except for a few things. Instead of rehashing comments made below, I will simply state a few things I don't like about the unit. First off, for testing I am running it through a strat-> burn unit-> silverface/point to point/non-master Twin reverb. Being the Burn unit, and not the lower gain Tone pump, I was expecting a bit more gain/overdrive. I would call this pedal a medium gain unit. I really feel the "burn" knob, which if 10 is maxed out, should really go to the 12-13 range. This would give an extra kick to leads, better sustain on long bends. With that said, I don't think this pedal cleans up as well as it should when backing off the guitar volume. I used to have a Fulltone 70's fuzz pedal that was very distorted when cranked, but back the guitar volume off to about 7 and it *really* cleaned up nice. This unit cleans up, but its very gradual, still way more gritty than it should be at 5 on the guitar volume. To me it still has that Ibanez TS-808/09 type of EQ, though it is less than other pedals, its still there. Most of the controls lead to a dark TS sound. To dial that out, I leave the tone knob almost maxed, which means, to me, this pedal has a narrow EQ range that I really like. Through a Sweetout Uni-vibe (which colors the sound in a good way), this unit is heavenly. By itself, it is very good, however I do think it needs more gain, clean up better, and a little different EQ.

Very, have not had it long, but its built *top* quality.

Very good. I e-mailed Dave Barber about adding more gain. He said there is room for a 5-10% increase without making it muddy. Gave him a ring and was very helpful.

Its a very good pedal. I find that really sweet higher gain overdrive/distortion pedals are the toughest effects to find. So far I have a klon and its great for low gain sound. I think the Barber comes very close but does need a few changes to make it stand out tall above everyone else.

A bit more complicated than your avergae overdrive. There is a dynamics knob that controls the compression characteristics of the unit and this is interactive with the overdrive knob. Once you get to know the unit, it is fairly easy to get some really good sounds out of it.

Using this pedal with a strat, bassman replica, and a klon. I bought this pedal as a higher gain alternative to my Klon and in this regard I am satisfied. I have done extensive a/b tests with the burn unit and the klon centaur and while they are designed to do very different things they can be made to sound somewhat similar. The burn unit is supposed to change the sound of your amp vs the klon which is a much cleaner more natural pedal. The burn unit is great for adding a different sound to your existing setup. The burn unit offers more gain and sustain than the klon, especially when the compression is turned up to the maximum, at this point you can get a really singing sustain you simply cannot get out of the klon. The burn unit also seems to add bass and mids to your sound and nicely thickens up a bridge pickup. The klon really excels at a natural overdrive that doesn't change the inherent tone of your amp and guitar so I was very interested in seeing if I could get the burn unit to do the same. With the compression at about halfway and the gain about half way you can get a tone fairly close to the klon. The burn units overdrive control seems to add more mids and bass as you turn it up, but sometimes the bass can get a bit fuzzy and is not as tight as the klon. When you really turn up the overdrive on the burn unit it really lends a more el-84 sound to my fender style amp, and it actually sounds like an overdriven non-master volume amp. The klon does not do this. So the bottom line is, if your looking for a box to make your fender amp sound a bit more british and want more gain and sustain, this box excels. For something more natural and with tighter bass, go with the klon. For now, I'm keeping both.

I'd say about average. My pedal was about a week late, and not all of my calls were returned.

For the money this a really versatile box, it doesn't do any clean boost like the klon, but with some careful tweaking you can get it to sound fairly close to the klon (although that el-34 sound is still there). It does exactly what I wanted it to: more drive and sustain and a more british character. That it sounds almost like real non-master volume amp overdrive was a fantastic bonus.

Easy to operate, turn the knobs, use your ears, season to taste.

see comments below I'd give it a 10 for MY tastes, but it may not be for everyone

not sure.... a backup would be nice, but they are too expensive. see comments below

Dave Barber took my order, but did not respond to my last two emails when it was past delivery date. Prior to that he had broken a collar bone, or somthing, mountain biking, and there were delays as a result. I assume things just got backed up.

After working with the Burn Unit distortion pedal for a few rehearsals with different bands I thought I'd share some comments. I have been using a Fulldrive 2 pedal, and will use it as a comparision for some details.
Feature wise, the Burn Unit has volume, tone, dynamics and "burn" (distortion) knobs, plus a bass level pot on the inside of the unit. It runs on a 9v battery or external power (I use a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power Supply). This is a "single channel" distortion unit, not like the Fulldrive2 which offers 2 "channels" for two tones.
Sonic qualities are very, very good. The character of the pedal is meant for distortion. Even with the burn control turned all the way down, it has some grit. I have been using the burn knob about halfway, and find that it cleans up just right when I back off on the guitar's volume and doesn't lose highs. Very, very cool. The tone is the best part, as just about any distortion pedal can produce adequate distortion. The tone knob seems to focus on the upper mids and treble range, and this lets me either darken my lead sounds, or get back to the original tone of the guitar. I simply can't do this with the Fulldrive2. There is a distinct midrange tone imposed by the Burn Unit, yet I much prefer it over the Fulldrive2. The Burn Unit is far more detailed, responsive and "musical" (pardon the over used phrase) for my taste than the FD2. The FD2 tends to wash out all low end information, and the high end is uneven. This is more problematic in the FD2's compressed mode (volume knob down position).
I had assumed that the ideal overdrive / distortion pedal would simply enhance my guitar's tone, but I now feel that the somewhat different character of the Burn Unit is more interesting. This area is totally subjective, and I wouldn't expect anyone to agree or disagree. Totally personal preference.
The Burn Unit seems to interface much better with my different guitars ('52 RI Tele, Tom Anderson Hollow Classic, LP Special, LP GoldTop w/humbuckers) than the FD2. Recently I jammed with a friend who has a Matchless DC30, and it worked great with that amp, too. The FD2 sounded better with my Rivera M60 than my Dr. Z MAZ38. I think the combination of guitar and amp plays a huge role in the results you get with different distortion pedals.
I had always felt the Fulldrive2 has too much compression in the volume knob down position. In the volume knob up position, the boost channel is uncontrolably LOUD. I discussed this with Mike Fuller, and he said this is by design and nothing can be done about it. It may work great for some players, but I can't get a good tone without it being extremely loud in the non compressed mode.
I do have a few quibbles about the Burn Unit. Construction quality, while very good, is not of the same caliber as the FD2. Labels are simple stickers, and the input output jacks are not labeled at all. Interior work is clean, but heavy on solder. I don't knob good components from bad, so no comment there. The Burn Unit circuit appears extremely simple compared to the dense circutry of the FD2. I assume it costs much less to build the Burn Unit. I may be off base here, but think the Burn Unit should sell for less than the FD2. I do think the unit is durable, but it does not give me the confidence the FD2 does.
I haven't decided to keep or sell the FD2. I do like it for clean boosts, and it does have some great sounds, but its no longer on my pedal board.
I hope this loooong post is of some help to others who are curious about the Burn Unit. Feel free to contact me directly if you want more info. davidp158@earthlink.net tel: 425.746.7245

The Burn Unit is EXTREMELY easy to use, and it is a lot of fun dialing in your tone. There are four knobs....1) Volume (adjusts level of the Burn Unit) 2) Tone (controls brightness) 3) Dynamics (controls dynamics and compression) 4) "Burn" (adjusts the sustain, drive, and harmonic ratio). There's a green light which shows that the unit is on, and there's a switch. Input and AC adaptor are on the right side, and output is on the left.

Sound? OFF THE SCALE!!!!! This is the BEST distortion pedal that I have ever heard. There is no way to describe it without playing through it because words cannot give it justice. It is VERY quiet. In fact, it's silent...no hum or buzz. I play a Les Paul Standard with original 40 year old PAF's through an unmodified 1974 Boogie Mark I and also through a '65 Blackface Vibro-champ. I occasionally play a G&L Legacy. It can give me a Marshall/British crunch, a Fender Tweed tone, and a $15,000 Dumb Bell tone...it's amazing. I can get a Larry Carlton smooth and full clean tone all the way to a Robben Ford drive. I wanted a distortion pedal that could give me a Joe Walsh/Don Felder, Thin Lizzy, Neal Schon, Neil Giraldo, REO Speedwagon etc...70's Classic rock tone without spending the $$$$ on a Fender Tweed Deluxe or a Marshall Plexi, but I also wanted a smooth overdrive unit. The unit does not suck any tone out of my amp, and it does not color my amp's tone at all.

Dave Barber uses only top quality, high-end audio components with point-to-point wiring. He makes each Burn Unit by hand. The box is built like a tank. This is a distortion pedal for a lifetime, and one is all that you will need.

Dave Barber is extremely helpful and nice. He answers all of my questions without hesitation, and he makes you feel very comfortable. He is extremely knowledgeable, but he does not make you feel ignorant. You can reach him via e-mail or by phone.

I play mostly 70's classic rock and jazz, and the Burn Unit can fit any playing style. I've been playing off and on for about 10 years. If it were stolen or lost, I would cry because there is currently a 5-week back order. I could not play without it for that long, and I do not know how I played without one for so long. I love that it is so versatile. It can give me any amp tone that I desire. I love the "Burn" feature which is the sustain, drive, and harmonics. I was going to buy a Fulldrive II or a Green Rhino by Way Huge, but I wanted to get away from that TS-808 tone. It makes me a better player, and it makes me want to play. I want to thank Dave Barber for making the exact pedal that I was looking for, and it is so nice to see that someone can still make a quality product with incredible customer support.

Very easy to use. Stomp it on. Adjust to taste and then play. One pain is the pot inside to adjust the overall bass. You have to be carefull becuase the pot is soldered directly to the internal components and is at a funny angle. I could see some potential breakage problems there in the future. There is a lot of interplay between all the controls which makes for lots of tweakability if you want it though.

The sounds are surprisingly good. Its forte seems to be smooth overdrive sounds, and emulates power amp comression very well. I especially like the Dumb bell setting. It doesn't do a pristine clean boost though, even with the burn all the way down there is some rasp. You do have to be careful with the tone setting though because it can get rather muffled and dark. The manual says to start with the tone at the 3 o'clock position. I find myself using the tone almost maxed out unless the bright switch on the amp is engaged. I tried the pedal with various combinations on Tom Anderson strats, Jacksons, and Ibanez sabres, through my Bogner Ecstasy, VHT Ultra-lead and through a cheap peavey Ultra 1-12 combo. In all situations it did exactly what I wanted it to do. On the Bogner I used it for a mild volume and gain boost for oomph during solos and it worked fine without any dumping of the bass freqeuncies with good articulation. On the VHT I used it to emulated the mild vintage overdrive sounds since the VHT has a very aggressive sound to it. And on the peavey I used it for both with good success

Seems fairly rugged but I do have some niggles. The box has stickers for its face art work! Also for a high price stomp box it also has stick on rubber footpads. The on/off switch also seems a little flimsy to me.

Very nice fella. Spoke with him at length on the Phone. He even played through it over the phone so I could have a listen to what it could do. I ordered it and it took about 4 weeks to get.

Overall I still like it, and it is the only overdrive pedal that I still own. I have owned or used tube screamers, klons, jekyll and hydes, daddy o's, menatone's, comptortions, etc. Even though i don't think it is perfect, it still does what I want it to do better than the others that I tried. I like the smooth overdrives and fully transparent true bypass. My biggest niggles are that I have to engage bright switches on all my amps, or I have to turn the tone on full. It's too bad that he doesnt have a lo mid and hi, or at least a separate lo and high knob. It would be way more versatile. Also the stickers really bug me and the stick on feet. Oh well, for all my complaints, I'm not even considering sending it back for a refund. My ratings for this pedal may seem kinda harsh. But I'm sick of seeing all tens in every category for everything that people buy and post on harmony central. Please people, don't justify your purchases by giving tens, be honest!

The Barber Burn Unit is a distortion pedal featuring an on/off switch (true bypass), on/off LED indicator, four knobs - volume, tone, "dynamics" (which seems to adjust the compression ratio), and "burn" (adjusts drive, sustain, and harmonics). There is a bass control inside the unit which the user can adjust if he wishes. The unit is battery powered but a 'wall-wort' jack is also included. All the parts are top quality. Oil-damped Mouser (I think) pots, Switchcraft jacks, a very high quality footswitch, all in a steel housing with what looks like a baked-on textured black matte finish. Indestructible.

Really deserves an 11, because the sound quality excedes all my expectations. There is alot of buzz about this pedal and its brother the Tone Pump. They are very deserved. The bottom line on the Burn Unit is this: you get a range of distortion from mild, loose, Fender Tweed drive to maxed out, hot-rodded Plexi. There is no 'slight fattening' overdrive settings as you would find on a Fulltone Fulldrive or Barber's Tone Pump, for example. Once you turn it on you've got DISTORTION. You also cannot get very heavy distortion freak-outs ala Big Muff Pi, or Boss Metal Zone. This thing lives in the traditional Fender/Boogie/Marshall grind range. So why is big buzz on this pedal? Because the sound quality is realistic beyond belief. I would never have imagined that a mere pedal could nail tube amp saturation so realistically. Hell, this thing does it better than all of the tubed preamps I've heard (except the CAE 3). Incredible balance of harmonic complexity, detail, and gorgeous, round saturation. With the dynamics and burn set all the way down, you get a very realistic Tweed drive. Set them all the way up and you've got a blistering Marshall meltdown. The range of the 'burn' (distortion) pot provides only about a 40-50% increase in perceived grind intensity. But every possible setting on this pedal is useable and sounds wonderful. It is impossible to get a less than a terrific sound out of it. It does Blackface, Tweed, Santana-like Boogie, and a nice range of early Marshall distortions (JTM 45 to JCM 800 area), as well as a cool clean boost. It provides a tremendous volume boost if you want it. This thing raises the standard for distortion pedals. The most perfectly voiced pedal I've ever heard. Wouldn't have thought it possible for a stompbox to sound this good.

Totally bullet-proof. Will last a lifetime. Roadwarrior quality.

It is such a treat to deal with serious professionals like Dave Barber. He advised me the wait was about six weeks. I truely expected it would take longer because he builds every pedal himself (mine is No. 61), and I hear a tremendous buzz about his products. So I anticipated he would be very backordered. Four weeks later the unit was in my hands! He is having new graphics made for his pedals right now so he shipped it without (I can just stick the decals on when they come) so I could have the working unit ASAP. Class! My customer satisfaction level is at maximum.

I am straining to find anything to be critical about. It was shipped without a battery. Maybe Dave had reasons for this. If a battery went bad in transit the unit would have been ruined. Other than that this thing is better than I ever imagined a pedal could be. Wildly exceded all my expectations. The unit carves a rather traditional niche though. It doesn't try to be a subtle OD pedal or an extreme wall-of-noise distortion/fuzz. If you have a great multi-channel amp you wont need this pedal. But pairing the Burn Unit with a hand-wired, single channel boutique amp (like a Dr. Z 'Carmen Ghia') would produce a devastating pallette of tones. The Burn Unit is not for every situation, but in its territory it nothing on the market can touch it.

Very intuitive and easy to set up. The pedal has four knobs: Volume, Tone, "O", and Pump. Volume and Tone are pretty standard fare. "O" adjusts dynamics and compression characteristics. "Pump" regulates how much distortion and sustain you get. The "manual" consists of a one sided, type written instruction sheet. But in all reality, it was more than enough. Mostly, they offered suggestions for dialing in popular sounds (blackface, tweed, Dumb Bell tone).

I pretty much bought this thing sight unseen. I was taking a little gamble on it. (But David has a one week trial basis, where if you don't love it, send it back for a full refund, no questions asked). I gambled...and won. This is the best sounding distortion pedal I've ever played. One of the things which I really liked about it was that it has more sustain than anything I've tried. I hit a note (on the 3rd string) - and it sustained, and sustained, and sustained...and then started to feed back an octave or two higher. I bent the note up...and added some vibrato - and it sounded like somebody singing! And this was at apartment volume. The pedal is also very, very transparent - even in the "on" mode.
The Burn Unit was hyped as being able to cop the overdrive characteristics of a Dumble amplifier. Does it sound like a Dumble? I dunno. Never played one of 'em. However, this is one hell of a great sounding distortion/overdrive stomp box. I'd say that the distortion characteristics are like that of a "Good Marshall". (As opposed to anything made after 1973). It's got a TPDT switch (true bypass with LED). And there's an internal trim pot inside...so you can tweak the overall bass response. I haven't messed with this one yet. But even without having tweaked the internal trim pot, I was able to dial in a HUGE plethora of fantastic sounding sounds. Very easy to dial in creamy, Eric Johnson / Robben Ford type lead tones.

This pedal is hand made - and the hand wired insides are as clean as anything I've ever seen. Looks to be built as tough as they come.

David Barber is a gem. He is one of THE nicest people I've talked to. Very gracious with his time - and stops to listen to his customers. And unlike most other manufacturers - he takes seriously customer feedback. It shows that he's building his company at the grass roots level. When I buy stuff, I make my purchasing decisions based on not only the product itself - but also the customer support (pre and post sale). I've dealt with many different manufacturers through the years and have bought thousands of dollars of gear. And I have NEVER dealt with anybody more professional - or committed to total customer satisfaction than David Barber. He has earned my business!

I play rock, blues, jazz, and fusion. And for my needs, this pedal is IT. I've been through some really great sounding gear (including other botique stuff). And I can honestly say that this is the new King of the Hill. I can't think of anything I'd want different.
I'm not sure if Barber pedals are available in any stores. But you can contact David Barber at: 410-298-6861.